Snake Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ snakes from around the world — with venomous status, family, range, size, habitat, and how to tell look-alikes apart.
Gopher Snake
A large, powerfully built colubrid often mistaken for a rattlesnake due to its defensive hissing and tail-vibrating display.
Western Fox Snake
A stout, tan-and-brown blotched constrictor of the Midwest prairies, sometimes mistaken for a rattlesnake due to defensive tail vibration.
Black-Headed Snake
A tiny, secretive desert colubrid distinguished by a solid black or dark cap over the head, contrasting with its plain lighter body.
Rainbow Snake
A glossy, iridescent black snake with three bright red or pink stripes running the length of its body, closely tied to freshwater eel populations.
Redtail Coral Snake
A slender coral snake distinguished by its black-and-white banded body ending in a strikingly reddish-orange tail.
Cape Coral Snake
A small, brightly banded burrowing elapid of arid southern Africa, known for its bold red-and-black or coral pattern.
Black Swamp Snake
A small, glossy black semi-aquatic snake with a bright red-orange belly, found in southeastern wetlands.
Marbled Sea Snake
A small sea snake with reduced fangs and greatly diminished venom, specialized for feeding on fish eggs rather than active prey, making it functionally harmless to humans.
Cross-marked Sand Snake
A small, slender southern African sand snake named for the distinctive cross- or arrow-shaped marking on its head and neck.
Spotted Whip Snake
A fast, alert colubrid with a row of dark spots or blotches along its back, common in arid and semi-arid habitats across Central and Southwest Asia.
Stripe-bellied Sand Snake
A fast, alert diurnal sand snake widespread across savanna Africa, distinguished by dark stripes running along its yellowish underside.
West Coast Garter Snake
A common streamside garter snake of the Pacific coast, often seen basking near rivers and creeks in California and Oregon.
Striped Harlequin Snake
A small, striped southern African elapid closely related to the spotted harlequin snake, distinguished by longitudinal stripes rather than spots.
Aurora House Snake
A small, non-venomous southern African snake named for the striking orange-red dorsal stripe reminiscent of an aurora glow.
Persian Whip Snake
A slender, fast-moving colubrid found across Iran and neighboring regions, typically marked with a subtle striped pattern and a pale yellowish underside.
Copperbelly Water Snake
A regionally threatened subspecies of the Redbelly Water Snake, named for its vivid orange-red underside, restricted to isolated wetlands of the American Midwest.
Black-banded Cat-eyed Snake
A widespread nocturnal colubrid of the Americas with large cat-like eyes and a banded or blotched pattern, common near wetlands.
Redbelly Water Snake
A heavy-bodied water snake with a plain dark back and a bright reddish-orange belly, common along ponds and swamps of the American South.
Twin-barred Tree Snake
A small relative of the flying snakes, marked with paired dark bars along a reddish or orange body, native to Southeast Asian forests.
Pacific Gopher Snake
A large, heavy-bodied colubrid of the Pacific coast known for its loud hiss and defensive tail-vibrating display that often leads to mistaken identity as a rattlesnake.
Black-headed Cat Snake
A slender, reddish-brown cat snake distinguished by its solid black or dark head, found in lowland forests of Southeast Asia.
Mustard-Bellied Snake
A small elapid named for its distinctive yellowish belly, found in a limited range of southeastern Australia.
Northwestern Garter Snake
A small, colorful, and highly variable garter snake common in gardens and forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Broad-banded Garter Snake
A striped garter snake variant found near streams and rivers in Texas, notable for its wide dorsal stripe.